NY Climate Week Events that Covered Nuclear

By Valerie Gardner, Managing Partner, Nucleation Capital
October 5, 2026

There were more events covering and discussing nuclear energy at NY Climate Week 2026 than I've ever seen in any previous NY Climate Week gathering. Last year, there were four events. This year, there's been a measurable shift: there were so many events, it was impossible to get to them all—even when CEOs of your portfolio companies were speaking (we had at least eight doing so, some at multiple venues). Many of the events I attended were not even listed on the official agenda of the Climate Group but were just held simultaneously, with private invitations. Others, such at the Transition-IQ event for Institutional LPs, ended up having the topic of nuclear power raised by speakers, even when the topic wasn't formally part of the agenda. People are hearing and thinking about nuclear quite pervasively and beginning to factor in considerations for nuclear at a scale that I've never seen. We've compiled this preliminary listing to share some of the details about the events that we were aware of but even this listing is likely not entirely comprehensive.

Nuclear Symposium

Hosted by Nuclear NY and building on New York’s push for a clean energy future, the 2026 Nuclear Symposium focuses on delivering clean, safe, reliable, and affordable power at scale. For the first time, the communities, the developers, the buyers, the regulators, and the capital are in one room — because they have to be.… Rory Christian, Ekin Senlet, Elina Teplinsky, Adam Stein, Julie Kozeracki, Andrew Shaw, Kirsty Gogan, Randy Wolken, Assil Halimi (CEO of Apollo Atomics), Jake Jurewicz (CEO of Blue Energy), etc.

Event by: Nuclear New York Event duration Multiple days 03:00pm - 07:00pm, Wednesday, September 23, 2026 Wed Sep 23rd: NY City Bar Association (42 West 44 St), Thu Sep 24th: Verizon Executive...

The Atlantic Council's Nuclear Energy Policy Summit

On Tuesday, September 22 and Wednesday, September 23, from the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the Atlantic Council Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative hosted its third annual Nuclear Energy Policy Summit.

The 2026 Nuclear Energy Policy Summit surveyed dramatic changes in the domestic and global nuclear energy policy landscapes over the last year. The Summit addressed novel partnerships in the public and private sectors that will be crucial to funding and implementing new nuclear projects; the efforts of first-mover US states to deploy next-generation nuclear technologies; the role of nuclear energy in meeting increased global energy demand; and the nexus between domestic nuclear energy deployment and a robust civil nuclear export program. There were 72 listed speakers, including from government, industry, law, policy makers and representatives from other countries. Among these were the Hon. Daniel Poneman, CEO of Centrus, Kyle Nicholas, vP, Project Finance and Energy Systems, Westinghouse, Joseph Miller, President, Government Operation, BWXT, Dickson Lim, Lead, Philanthropy Advisory, Temasek Trust, The Hon. Christopher Landau, Deputy Secretary of State, US Dep. of State, Jake Jurewicz, CEO, Blue Energy, Mikal Bøe, Founder and CEO, CORE POWER, Shunondo Basu, Director of Energy Technology and Innovation, Power Team, The Rockefeller Foundation, Jacob Stedman, CEO, Blykalla, and H.E. Wojciech Wrochna, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Energy and Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure, Republic of Poland, among others.

The Nuclear Renaissance: Financing the Global Expansion

The Nuclear Renaissance: Financing the Global Expansion of Nuclear Power and Assessing its Sustainability Implications. The program will explore one of the defining capital allocation challenges of the energy transition: financing a global nuclear renaissance. After roughly four decades of stagnation, nuclear energy is undergoing a dramatic resurgence in interest and investment — driven by AI- and data-center-fueled electricity demand, de-carbonization imperatives, and renewed U.S. policy support targeting 400 GW of nuclear capacity by 2050. Yet the economics and sustainability profile of nuclear power remain hotly debated in capital markets: construction costs run into the tens of billions of dollars, timelines stretch over a decade, and financing structures are still being worked out. At the same time, smaller scale projects in the form of small modular nuclear technology, are in the early stages of development. This event will convene investors, analysts, and policy leaders shaping

The Nest Climate Campus

Featured mutliple panels and speakers from the nuclear industry, including on Monday, 9/22 on the Main Stage, Greg Piefer, Founder and CEO of SHINE Fusion and Thomas Forner, Co-Founder & CEO, Focused Energy speaking on a panel titled "A blueprint for deep tech's next decade," and on Tuesday, 9/23, Rachel Slaybaugh, General Partner at DCVC in conversation with Tori Shivanandan, President and Chief Operating Officer, of Radiant Nuclear, on "The era of new nuclear energy expansion."

Guggenheim Nuclear Conference

Guggenheim Partners, in partnership with the Nuclear Energy Insitute, hosted a full day of panels and discussion devoted to Investing in Advanced Nuclear Energy at Convene 237 Park Ave on October 1st, slightly extending the end of Climate Week. This conference, organized by Guggenheim's James Schaefer, Allen Otto and team, addressed many aspects of the current rise in nuclear activity including demand drivers, policy tailwinds and the capital formation required to accelerate development of nuclear energy. Experts discussed the novel partnerships and deal structures that are being developed to bring new projects to reality in the U.S. Public and private parnterships and underwriting frameworks, together with risk and return expectations and considerations for deploying capital across the nuclear value chain. Varying perspectives were provided by panels featuring Utilities and technology providers and the issues, opportunities and challenges involved with developing, licensing, constructing and signing offtake aggrements for nuclear power and vertical suppliers were covered. This conference included many senior members of the nuclear industry including Maria Krosnick, President and CEO of NEI, Stan Connally, Executive VP & COO of Southern Company, Colleen Wright, VP of Development for Constellation Energy, Rex Geveden, President and CEO of BWX Technologies, Todd Tinelli, CFO for Centrus Energy, Richard Springman, President of Holtec International, Will Wagner, VP, Business Development for Bechtel Power, Elina Teplinsky, Partner at Pillsbury, Julie Kozeracki, Acting CIO for U.S. DOE, Alicia Knapp, President, Nuclear Development, American Electric Power, Clay Sell, CEL of X-Energy, Stefano Buono, Founder and CEO, Newcleo. Mike Laufer, Founder and CEO of Kairos Power, Patrick Leahy, Managing Director, GE Vernova, Jacob Stedman, CEO of Blykalla, nd many others.

Transition-IQ: How Modern Fiduciaries Navigate Climate Risks and Opportunities

Transition-IQ’s annual Climate Week NYC forum led by Michael Salat, features leading experts discussing the role of policy in climate-risk disclosure, climate risk scenario planning, developing net-zero strategies and opportunities to finance climate and natural capital solutions. It’s a well-attended event and benefits from conversations between professional asset allocators actively trying to solve their investment challenges around climate and investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy. Key themes and discussions included:

Energy Transition: How investors and corporates are thinking about the structural risk of constrained energy supply when examining energy-intensive investment opportunities (which had some discussion of nuclear energy);
Climate Adaptation: Approaches to climate resilience by integrating adaptation strategies, sustainable investments, and systemic transition financing. What parts of climate adaptation are investable;
Re-Industrialization: Aligning capital with emerging demand from reshoring, industrialization, and clean energy;
Critical Mineral: Managing global mineral supply chains for biodiversity protection and contributing to social economic development.
Water Risk: Establishing water-related investment priorities to make a positive impact on efficiency and infrastructure resilience; and more.

CleanEcon CFP Funders Convening

CleanEcon is a nonprofit, launched by the former top policy and advocacy executives from Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy, advancing groundbreaking policy change to drive economic growth, shared prosperity, and a safe climate. The group operates at the intersection of politics, policy, the private sector and the philanthropic sector to advocate modernizing outdated rules and removing market barriers so clean firm technologies outcompete old energy sources and become the most affordable, abundant, and compelling way to power a growing economy. The group covers all types of clean energy but may have a slight bias towards addressing the needs of nuclear power. This event brought together leading philanthropic funders who support the goal of scaling clean firm power technologies so as to enable the energy transition.

The Power Gap Panel & Reception

As power demand accelerates and grid capacity comes under increasing strain, our discussion will explore the scarcity challenges facing today's energy systems and the emerging technologies poised to address them, featuring perspectives from leaders in nuclear energy and space-based power solutions.… discussion will explore the scarcity challenges facing today's energy systems and the emerging technologies poised to address them, featuring perspectives from leaders in nuclear energy and space-based power solutions.

The Age of Energy Abundance: Accelerating the Race to a Clean Energy Future

What becomes possible when clean, reliable energy is abundant rather than scarce? XPRIZE is developing a new portfolio of competitions aimed at accelerating technologies that could fundamentally expand global access to clean energy—from advanced nuclear and next-generation geothermal to fusion power. This working session will share our emerging vision for an energy prize portfolio designed to advance individual technologies and to accelerate the transition toward an energy-abundant future. Particular attention will focus on fusion: how a sequence of ambitious prizes could help shorten the path from today’s scientific and technical progress to commercial demonstration, deployment, and ultimately widespread access to fusion power around the world. Participants will be invited to help identify the most consequential technological…...

Climate action is changing: Climate leaders are becoming a lot more pragmatic

an implementation COP.   But this comes with tough, pragmatic choices. What if going to 100% renewable and nuclear power drives up electricity costs, annoys voters and slows down the electrification of heating or transport? Could aiming for 90 or 95% save more carbon in the short and mid-term?  Western… Part 3 of this thought leadership series focuses on the ways businesses and governments are shifting to pragmatic, practical implementation...

State Power: with Governor J.B. Pritzker

Load growth is arriving faster than capacity. Illinois repealed its nuclear moratorium, set a 2 GW target by executive order and is now working out how to put real projects in the ground without handing the bill to ratepayers. That is the question facing every state with load growth and every founder building the thing that meets it. Join Overture and leading founders and investors for an afternoon of fireside chats on firm capacity, affordability and the politics of building fast. Presented in partnership with Boundary Stone Partners and Stifel. Includes a conversation with Jake Jurewicz, Co-Found and CEO, Blue Energy in conversation with Jeff Navin, C0-Founder of Boundary Stone Partners, followed by Kitchen Table Economics, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, in conversation with Ben Rhodes, Former Deputy National Security Advisor. At The Malin Chelsea Events.

Q&A: Shortening the path to Future First digital infrastructure with Equinix

operational regions. However, we recognize that renewables alone are not enough. To meet rising power demands driven by electrification and AI, we adopt an “all of the above” energy strategy. This includes evaluating low-carbon solutions such as fuel cells, hydrogen and nuclear energy, alongside… In this interview with Christopher Wellise—VP, Sustainability, Equinix—we explore the strategies Equinix employs to build AI-ready data centers with a focus on sustainability, as well as the broader implications for the built environment...

The first days of Climate Week NYC – courage, the future, and the trends in our energy system

” central to energy policy for governments around the world. He laid out four trends shaping the energy system: the continued rise of solar and electric cars, the persistence of coal, renewed interest in nuclear, and how countries have responded to the energy crisis. Diesel prices, he noted… One sentiment seemed to emerge across those two days: the call for courage in the face of headwinds. Being loud. And treating the climate crisis as a security issue...

Scaling in Europe: Climate Tech and the Slovakia Advantage

As the transition to a cleaner economy accelerates, Europe is becoming an increasingly important market for climate technology, energy innovation, and sustainable infrastructure. Slovakia offers a compelling platform for this transition, combining a strong nuclear energy base, advanced industry, and a growing technology and innovation ecosystem. The program will highlight Slovak companies scaling internationally, the growing energy demands of AI and data centers, and the role of next-generation nuclear technology in Europe's clean energy future. PROGRAM 8:30 AM | Breakfast & Networking Coffee and light breakfast 9:00 AM | Introduction Vladimir Lackovič Special Representative to the U.S. for Trade and Investment, SARIO Zuzana Serinová Policy Manager, AmCham Slovakia…...

Powering the Future: Fission, Fusion and Critical Minerals

Join Ashurst Perkins Coie, Avalanche Energy and Idemitsu during Climate Week NYC 2026 as we bring together industry leaders for a discussion of the future of our energy economy: Fission, Fusion, and Critical Minerals. Through two timely panel discussions, our speakers will explore the technological advances, infrastructure developments, supply chain considerations, regulatory frameworks, and capital investments that will secure our energy independence and support a sustainable energy future. • PANEL I – Advances in Clean Energy Fission and Fusion • Keynote Address: Chris Hanson, Former Chair, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission • PANEL II – Meeting the Demand for Critical Minerals Following the panels, please join us for a networking reception where you will have the opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, panelists, and…...

11th International Conference on Global Energy Meet (GEM 2027)

their latest research and ideas. The conference will cover important topics such as renewable energy, energy storage, hydrogen, smart grids, carbon capture, nuclear energy, and other sustainable energy technologies. It also offers excellent opportunities for networking, collaboration, and discussing solutions for the global energy transition. Conference Highlights Keynote Speakers: Renowned experts from academia and industry will share their insights. Technical Sessions: Dive deep into technical topics through a series of informative sessions. Poster Sessions: Interact with researchers and view cutting-edge work in poster sessions. Networking: Connect with peers, establish collaborations, and build your professional network. Topics • Wind Power & Energy • Environmental & Pollution Issues • Hydroenergy & Hydropower Technology •……

From Capital to Capacity: Building the Next Generation of Power Infrastructure

Power demand is entering a new era. AI and hyperscale computing, advanced manufacturing, electrification and emerging technologies are creating unprecedented requirements for reliable, scalable electricity infrastructure. From Capital to Capacity brings together senior leaders across power generation, utilities and grid infrastructure, digital infrastructure, nuclear and advanced energy, private capital, finance and government to examine what it will take to meet that demand. Through a panel discussion, fireside conversation and interactive working session, the program will explore where new power capacity will come from, how quickly it can be built, how projects will be financed, and what changes in policy, infrastructure and technology are needed to accelerate deployment. Hosted by PowerStack at The Nest Campus during Climate…...

Climate Week: Investors & Founders Connect

Creating more than 1,100 direct jobs, and contributing to approximately 2,400 total jobs nationwide. Collectively, these companies have raised more than $1.24 billion in capital. To learn more, visit innovationspace.org. About Goodwin Procter Goodwin’s Climate Tech practice has the mission of supporting clients’ efforts to avert the worst consequences of the global environmental crisis by providing differentiated and highly sophisticated legal services to startups and startup investors in the climate technologies sector. Our clients are developing and scaling innovations in climate software, renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, nuclear fusion, batteries, mobility, sustainable agriculture, materials science, advanced manufacturing, plastic alternatives, and other areas. Our team is the first of its kind in the industry,…...

Energy transition: The road to scale

energy fact sheet: Wind turbines,” August 2013; US Department of Energy, “End-of-life management for solar photovoltaics,” accessed April 15, 2024; International Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear power plant ageing and life extension: Safety aspects, April 1987. Deloitte analysis: US EPA, Report… United States Environmental Protection Agency, “ Renewable energy fact sheet: Wind turbines ,” August 2013; US Department of Energy, “ End-of-life management for solar photovoltaics ,” accessed April 15, 2024; International Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear power plant ageing and life extension: Safety aspects , April 1987.

What’s needed to speed up the energy transition? Q&A with ABB CEO Morten Wierod

technologies that can help make the change as quickly as possible. Increasingly, the market is driving the shift towards electrification, energy efficiency and low-carbon sources of energy, like renewables and nuclear. We can and will do more to speed up the process and in doing so drive economic growth and prosperity while preserving our planet for future generations.… What’s needed to speed up the energy transition? How can industries be both competitive and sustainable? These are questions we put to Morten Wierod, CEO of ABB, a global technology leader, specializing in electrification and automation, with operations in more than 100 countries...

Anthropocene Institute

A gathering of several dozen long-time nuclear advocates and experts to share a dinner and discuss the state of nuclear, energy and climate altogether, spanning investors, ventures, policy experts, consultants, founders and philanthropic funders.

Nuclear Nuclear Night NYC

Join us for Alumni Ventures' Fourth Annual Nuclear Night NYC alongside Reveille VC and 53 Stations — a high-energy gathering at the heart of Climate Week NYC that brings together the brightest minds in nuclear innovation. This year's event will unite entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, academics, and advocates who are building the future of clean, reliable energy. Expect lively conversation, meaningful connections, and a shared commitment to powering a sustainable world. Drinks and light bites will be served. Who should attend: Founders, funders, innovators, researchers, and anyone shaping or supporting the nuclear and broader energy ecosystem. What it's about: Celebrating the momentum of nuclear energy and fostering the connections that accelerate its impact. Tuesday, September 22nd 5:00–8:00 PM New York City

Nuclear Rooftop Party

ROOFTOP NUCLEAR ⚛️ Four DJs. One rooftop. Clean, firm fun. Come split some atoms (energetically) as the sun goes down over Houston St. Climate Week’s cleanest party — powered by nuclear, fueled by bass.… Event by: Nuclear New York, Nuclear is Clean Energy Club (NiCE) Event format In-person Event duration 4 hours Language English 06:00pm - 10:00pm, Friday, September 25, 2026 331 East Houston St, Manhattan, New York, New York, 10002, United States Public event Register now ROOFTOP NUCLEAR ⚛️ Four DJs… One rooftop. Clean, firm fun. Come split some atoms (energetically) as the sun goes down over Houston…...

Published by Nucleation Capital in Advanced Nuclear, Advanced Nuclear Customers, Air pollution, Artificial Intelligence, Asset manager support, Brilliant thinkers, Carbon emissions, Carbon utilization, Climate change, Climate Costs, Climate innovation fund, Climate policy, Company Milestone, Construction costs, Data centers & Digital Infra, Department of Energy, Electrification, Energy abundance, Energy transition, Environmental support for nuclear, Fission, Future of Energy, Global emissions, History-making, Investor activity, NEWS, Nuclear competitiveness, Nuclear financing, Nuclear innovation, Nuclear waste, Nuclear-inclusive energy policy, Nucleation communications, Philanthropic support for nuclear, Politicians supporting nuclear, Portfolio Venture, Private companies, Solving climate, Solving nuclear waste, US competitiveness, US technological leadership, Venture capital support for nuclear, Women in Nuclear, Zero emission energy

September 19, 2026

Women, Nuclear and Climate on the Main Stage for NY Climate Week

By Valerie Gardner, Managing Partner
September 18, 2026

As the woman founder of Nucleation Capital, the first-ever venture fund to be overtly focused on investing into next generation nuclear, I know something about firsts.

Which is why I am so excited to see that Dr. Rachel Slaybaugh and Tori Shivanandan—two very talented women working in nuclear energy and firsts in their own rights—are converging on the Main Stage at the Jacob Javits Center to talk about nuclear's role solving climate during the upcoming New York Climate Week.

It has taken quite a long time to get to this point but this is—from a climate action perspective—an historic first both because climate used to not be willing to include nuclear energy and because those discussing it are both women! I will be there in the audience to witness, applaud and document for those who aren't there watching this pivotal moment.

Dr. Rachel Slaybaugh left a respected and tenured faculty position at UC Berkeley along with appointments at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and ARPA-e—where she had been successfully inspiring and guiding nuclear engineering students towards entrepreneurship—to follow her dream of becoming a venture investor as a General Partner with DCVC. Tori Shivanandan, now President and COO of Radiant Nuclear, has demonstrated the talent, wisdom and experience to find herself leading Radiant Nuclear in partnership with Doug Bernauer, the founder, which is one of the most accomplished of the advanced nuclear ventures vying for primacy in the next era of energy. DCVC has been an investor into Radiant Nuclear almost as long as Nucleation Capital has been. But Rachel sits on the Radiant board, so the two have been working together closely since 2022.

Their session, hosted by The Nest Campus, is titled "The era of new nuclear energy expansion" and it will occur on Wednesday September 23rd in the Javitz Center starting at 2:05 pm. Their conversation about nuclear's future—versions of which I have been having with investors for most of the last eight years—will last less than 30 minutes. Far too little time for such a critical conversation. But I suspect that the impact on the thousands of climate-concerned attendees at the Javitz Center, seeing these two brilliant women discussing how important nuclear is for humanity's and our planet's future, will be transformational.

Women investors, philanthropists and climate activists have long had the lowest level of support for nuclear power, despite having so many women having historically played or currently playing a role in the development of nuclear power. Across the 100+ investors in Nucleation Capital's Fund I, only 20% are women. This despite the fact that women disproportionately comprise those who care the most about protecting the environment and our future for our children from the ravages of climate change on all species and ecosystems.

But I get it. There are real, psychological obstacles to embracing the miracle of fission—a natural phenomena—and making the connection between that and the nuclear industry's ability to safely provide clean, zero emission, reliable and low ecologic-footprint power that can solve climate change today. These stem from long-standing cultural taboos built up over decades from media hyped and wildly exaggerated claims of the dangers of nuclear (including from some presumably reputable NGOs that are just doggedly antinuclear), leading to nearly instinctive fears and mistrust of nuclear power. The only way to overcome these feelings is either to dig deeply into the actual data about nuclear, as I did starting back in the 2010-2020 time frame, which led me to want to invest into the companies innovating to improve this technology . . . of which Radiant Nuclear was my second investment. (We've seen its growth grow by impressive multiples since then.)

Or possibly to see two women on the Main Stage at the Javitz Center chatting about their optimism for nuclear's potential to secure our future. Hopefully, this helps many more people see the blue light and wipe away irrational fears.

I'll be attending nearly all of the many nuclear-related events scheduled for NY Climate Week and immediately after for the Guggenheim Nuclear conference. If you are there are interested in learning how Nucleation Capital can help you gain affordable investment access to the premier ventures building our clean energy future, please reach out.

Hope to see you there!

January 22, 2026

NY Gov. Hochul to Add More Nuclear Power

Published by Nucleation Capital in Carbon emissions, Climate change, Construction costs, Electrification, Energy abundance, Energy transition, Fission, Politicians supporting nuclear, Solving climate, Trump Administration, VIDEO

December 16, 2025

Support New York’s Zero Emission Credit Program

Generation Atomic requests help showing support for the extension of the New York Zero Emission Credit program. Please click the link to learn more and register your support for this program.

Published by Nucleation Capital in ADVOCACY ACTIONS, Carbon emissions, Climate change, Energy abundance, Government support, Nuclear competitiveness, Politicians supporting nuclear, Pro-nuclear campaign, Pronuclear States, Regulatory reform, Solving climate, Zero emission energy

June 23, 2025

New York Gov Hochul announces plan to build advanced nuclear ()

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Monday that the state will build a major new nuclear power plant producing at least 1 gigawatt of electricity...

Published by Nucleation Capital in Environmental support for nuclear, LINKS, Regulatory reform

March 27, 2025

US States’ Nuclear Initiatives

Nuclear initiatives

As we reported in a post titled "States vying to host nuclear development," most U.S. States—along with many countries—recognize that nuclear power is vital to every jurisdiction's ability to generate reliable and clean power and that demand for nuclear is going to grow. Accordingly, many U.S. States have begun efforts to attract nuclear developments and nuclear power developers so as to both gain the additional power being added and the economic development benefits of hosting some portion of this growing sector. Now that AI development has sent Big Tech out in search of locations to build new data centers, which require massive amounts of energy, the race to attract nuclear power has grown even fiercer. There are so many developments, it would not be practical to post each individual state's initiatives separately. Thus, we are using this page to try to provide current updates on each state's nuclear initiatives, listed alphabetically.

Arizona

Arizona, home to one of the country's largest nuclear power plants, lawmakers are considering a utility-backed bill to relax environmental regulations if a utility builds a reactor at the site of a large industrial power user or a retired coal-fired power plant..

California

Alone among the most populated, industrial and progressive U.S. states, California remains mired in antiquated antinuclear politics. Although there is a large fraction of advanced nuclear innovation happening at startups located in California, California’s moratorium on new nuclear plants will force these ventures to seek alternative states in which to build their technologies. California’s leadership has shown no interest in competing to win the race to attract all of the talent, federal funding, jobs and economic development that will accompany the growth of this innovative sector and, by all appearances, the state has now fallen behind Texas, Wyoming, Illinois, New York and even Connecticut.

But, there are signs of attitudinal shifts happening even in deep blue California. Both California’s progressive Governor, Gavin Newsom, who for years workd to force the retirement of Diablo Canyon, and the state’s legislature reversed their decisions at the last minute and delayed the closure of the nuclear facility for five more years. They recognized, if reluctantly, that the plant had reliably provided almost 20% of the state’s zero-emission power and 8% of its electricity for decades. Shutting it down would expose the state to dire and life-threatening power outages without the plant’s high capacity-factor reliability and highly differentiated, non-intermittent generation. It would also set back progress on the state’s climate goals.

Sadly, despite several attempts over the years by elected legislators to bring the state into competitive parity with the country and do away with its 49-year old nuclear moratorium, make exceptions for SMRs, and/or conduct feasibility studies about SMRs, these bills have not made it out of committee. Thus, the state appears poised to miss out on the energy revolution made possible by next-generation nuclear, even with many advanced nuclear ventures being located in California.

Connecticut

Connecticut has a state-wide ban but passed an exception in 2022 that allows more nuclear construction at the site of the state’s one operating nuclear power plant, the Millstone Power Station. This specifically allows Dominion Energy to build advanced nuclear at the Millstone site. Dominion has shown interest in SMRs and recently announced a deal with X-energy to build their advanced design, in partnership with Amazon.

Illinois

One of the largest nuclear generating states, Illinois produces 53% of its electricity (and 90% of its clean energy) from nuclear power, and recently passed HB 2473, lifting the state’s moratorium on building new nuclear reactors—but only for small modular reactors (SMRs) rated for 300 megawatts or less. This measure was signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat.

Indiana

Indiana lawmakers passed legislation to let utilities more quickly seek reimbursement for the cost to build a modular reactor, undoing a decades-old prohibition designed to protect ratepayers from bloated, inefficient or, worse, aborted power projects.

Maine

Maine, which has not had an operating nuclear power plant since 1996, considered a bill to classify nuclear power as “clean,” to thus qualify it for carbon credits and other preferential treatment.

Maryland

Maryland joined the National Association of State Energy Officials’s Advanced Nuclear First Mover Initiative, or ANFMI, to develop supportive policies, coordinate with private stakeholders, and work toward unique procurement and financing options for nuclear energy projects. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Maryland are considering a bill that would include nuclear power in a new zero-emissions credit program, creating an additional revenue stream for nuclear projects there.

Michigan

Michigan has worked to protect and increase its nuclear power and sits at the forefront of resurgent state interest in nuclear energy. Michigan’s Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, worked to prevent the closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant. But, when a mechanical problem forced the plant’s sudden closure, the state legislature agreed to put $150 million toward the potential restart of Palisades, in what would be the US’ first-ever restart of a shuttered generating station. Under the Biden Administration’s Civil Nuclear Credit program, the plant subsequently received a $1.5 billion conditional loan commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy, to help fund the repairs and restart and potentially enable Holtec to build several SMRs on the site as well. Michigan lawmakers are also considering millions of dollars in incentives to develop and use the reactors, as well as train a nuclear industry workforce.

New York

New York has no statewide restriction but still has a narrow ban on new reactor development in the service territory of the Long Island Lighting Company, which covers Nassau, Suffolk and some of Queens counties. Although New York’s disgraced former governor, Andrew Cuomo, forced the premature closure of Indian Point which eliminated 80% of the then available clean energy for downstate New York, New York’s current Governor, Kathy Hochul appears to be bringing nuclear back. She announced the state’s largest and most ambitious initiative to tackle the climate crisis with a new master plan. This includes a commitment of $1 billion by the state and specifically includes NYSERDA’s Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies, which outlines a process for the inclusion of advanced nuclear in the state’s Master Plan consideration process. Additionally, New York State will co-lead a multi-state initiative to support nuclear refurbishment and new nuclear development. This seems to place New York State firmly in the race to attract next-generation nuclear developers. New York joined the National Association of State Energy Officials’s Advanced Nuclear First Mover Initiative, or ANFMI.

New York issued a request for information from “entities either already pursuing, or interested in pursuing, a potential role in advanced nuclear energy technology development” and an interim “blueprint” for nuclear power deployment as it prepares to release a more comprehensive nuclear “master plan”. Constellation Energy said that, with support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, it would apply for a federal grant to seek an early site permit “for one or more advanced nuclear reactors” at its 1,907-MW Nine Mile Point Clean Energy Center near Oswego, New York.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania joined the National Association of State Energy Officials’s Advanced Nuclear First Mover Initiative, or ANFMI, to develop supportive policies, coordinate with private stakeholders, and work toward unique procurement and financing options for nuclear energy projects.

Tennessee

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee proposed allocating more than $90 million to help subsidize a Tennessee Valley Authority project to install several small reactors, boost research and attract nuclear tech firms. As a long-time proponent of the TVA’s nuclear project, Lee also launched Tennessee’s Nuclear Energy Fund in 2023, designed to attract a supply chain, including a multibillion-dollar uranium enrichment plant billed as the state’s biggest-ever industrial investment.

Texas

Texas prides itself on being the “energy capital of the world.” It is setting itself up to become the “epicenter” for deployment of advanced nuclear and has taken some impressive steps to achieve this goal. In the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri, which resulted in extended power outages that caused many cold-related fatalities, an industry group got together to form the Texas Nuclear Alliance, dedicated to the advancement of nuclear technology in Texas and a mission to make Texas the “Nuclear Capital of the World.” TNA’s underlying premise was that, to meet the need for low-carbon and reliable energy, Texas could not afford to turn its back on “clean, safe, reliable and secure” nuclear energy.

By late 2023, Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, directed the Texas Public Utility Commission to establish a working group to study advanced nuclear. A year later, in November 2024, the Governor and the PUCT announced the release of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group’s final report on Texas’ plan to build a world-leading advanced nuclear power industry. The report’s multiple goals sought to enhance electric reliability and energy security, promote economic development, and unleash new opportunities for the growing Texas workforce. In commenting on the PUC’s report, Governor Abbott said:

“Texas is the energy capital of the world, and we are ready to be No. 1 in advanced nuclear power. By utilizing advanced nuclear energy, Texas will enhance the reliability of the state grid and provide affordable, dispatchable power to Texans across the state. As we build an advanced nuclear industry in our great state, we will ensure Texas remains a leader in energy and strengthen the Texas grid to meet the demands of our growing state.”

If you click on the report image on the right, it takes you directly to the report package, which is a thing of beauty. The Executive Summary finds five key benefits to making Texas the epicenter of advanced nuclear in the U.S.: 1) Enhance energy security; 2) Improve grid reliability; 3) Expand economic development opportunities; 4) Capture first-in-nation advantages that bring jobs, revenue and industrial growth; and 5) Capture international trade opportunities as the world works to triple the amount of nuclear available by 2050.

How will Texas take this lead? By doing what Texas does best: cutting “red tape” and establishing major “incentives” to “attract investments,” accelerate advanced nuclear deployments and overcome regulatory hurdles. It’s a very good plan . . . and far exceeds efforts by any other state to attract advanced nuclear development to itself.

Best of all, Texas isn’t merely posturing. The Texas Nuclear Alliance has partnered with the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS, which boasts eleven universities, eight agencies and an enormous 2100 acre parcel of land called the Rellis Campus devoted to supporting technology innovation) and announced that they have selected four advanced nuclear ventures to build their own advanced reactor at Texas A&M. These companies, called TNA Founding Members, include: Kairos Power, Natura Resources, Terrestrial Energy and Aalo Atomics. These companies responded to an RFP in the summer of 2024 to bring their designs to the Rellis campus and were accepted. While there are unknowns about what this selection means for these companies, solving the siting issue can provide a significant advantage in the highly competitive race to be the first to deploy. [Click here to see how beautifully Texas A&M promotes the Rellis campus.]

Utah

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced “Operation Gigawatt” to double the state’s electricity generation in a decade. He wants to spend $20 million to prepare sites for nuclear. State Senate President J. Stuart Adams told colleagues when he opened the chamber’s 2025 session that Utah needs to be the “nation’s nuclear hub.”

Virginia

Virginia’s recent pro-nuclear moves include state funding for an energy “career cluster” and a state-supported energy lab that help enable deployment of advanced nuclear reactors near former coal mines. These efforts are designed to attract workers, jobs and investments by companies in the growing advanced nuclear sector, which is poised to begin building SMRs at the country’s already shuttered and retiring coal plants. Dominion Energy issued a request for proposals for a possible small modular reactor deployment at its 1,892-MW North Anna Power Station and subsequently announced a memorandum of understanding with Amazon to support the Virginia project. Virginia joined the National Association of State Energy Officials’s Advanced Nuclear First Mover Initiative, or ANFMI, a regional initiative.

West Virginia

West Virginia joined the National Association of State Energy Officials’s Advanced Nuclear First Mover Initiative, or ANFMI, to develop supportive policies, coordinate with private stakeholders, and work toward unique procurement and financing options for nuclear energy projects.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, several lawmakers introduced a resolution calling on the Legislature to publicly support nuclear power and fusion energy. They intend that the state, in passing the resolution, makes what could be deemed a formal declaration that Wisconsin is open for nuclear industry business.

Wyoming

Wyoming, seen as an “early mover,” is one state that began laying the groundwork to attract and build next-generation nuclear prior to 2020, when Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, signed a bill forbidding coal plants to close but allowing small modular reactor capacity to replace the coal generation capacity. Subsequent legislation in 2022 and 2023 provided regulatory streamlining for advanced reactor deployment and authorized the state to match private funds up to $150 million. These actions helped the state win over TerraPower, the advanced nuclear venture owned by Bill Gates, which is now building infrastructure for what may be the first advanced nuclear power plant near the site of a retiring coal-fired power plant, in Kemmerer, Wyoming. It helped Wyoming a lot that Bill Gates was then close friends with Warren Buffet whose Wyoming-based company, PacifiCorp, owns many struggling coal plants and so found a site they were willing to let TerraPower use. Wyoming joined the National Association of State Energy Officials’s Advanced Nuclear First Mover Initiative, or ANFMI, to develop supportive policies, coordinate with private stakeholders, and work toward unique procurement and financing options for nuclear energy projects.

[Note, we endeavor to keep this article updated with more recent information.]

Sources

Office of the Texas Governor | Greg Abbott, Texas Leads As Energy Capital Of The World In 2024, December 27, 2024.
Texas Nuclear Alliance, Texas Nuclear Alliance Members Selected to Build Nuclear Reactors at Texas A&M University System’s RELLIS Campus, press release of 2/4/25 by the Texas Nuclear Alliance and Time to Build. (See video of the announcement.)
Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group, Deplying a World-Renowned Nuclear Industry in Texas: Considerations and Recommendations for Action, November 18, 2024.
DOE, Office of Nuclear Energy, What is a Nuclear Moratorium? Sept. 20, 2024
Governor Kathy Hochul, Governor Hochul Commits More Than $1 Billion to Tackle the Climate Crisis – the Single Largest Climate Investment in New York’s History, January 14, 2025.
CALMatters, Artificial intelligence is bringing nuclear power back from the dead — maybe even in California, by Alex Shultz, January 30, 2025.
NYSERDA, Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies, January 2025
LexisNexis, States Take Another Look at Nuclear Power to Combat Climate Change, Dec. 17, 2023.
Associated Press, Majority of US states pursue nuclear power for emission cuts, by Jennifer McDermott, Jan. 18, 2022.
Utility Dive, As states increasingly look to advanced nuclear, Wyoming, Virginia and Michigan lead the way, by Brian Martucci, April 17, 2024.
Stateline, Federal money could supercharge state efforts to preserve nuclear power, by Alex Brown, February 12, 2024.
Hannah Ritchie, Data Explorer: US State-by-State Electricity Sources, updated in 2025.
Wisconsin Public Radio, 2 GOP state lawmakers pushing to advance nuclear energy in Wisconsin, by Joe Schultz, Feb. 13, 2025
Seattle Times, New wave of smaller, cheaper nuclear reactors sends US states racing to attract the industry, by Marc Levy, Mar. 28, 2025
UtilityDive, As offshore wind struggles, is advanced nuclear a viable Plan B for Eastern states? by Brian Martucci, March 27, 2025

Published by Nucleation Capital in Advanced Nuclear, Air pollution, Climate change, Climate innovation fund, Construction costs, Energy abundance, Energy transition, Fission, Future of Energy, Government support, Land Use by Energy, NEWS

January 14, 2025

NY’s Blueprint for consideration of Advanced Nuclear

New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) requires that the statewide electricity system achieves "zero emissions" by 2040 and that all state agencies work to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050. Even though the state is working to increase solar, wind, storage and efficiency, there remains a critical need for "controllable clean electricity technologies," an energy source the NYISO refers to a "Dispatchable Emissions Free Resources" (DEFRs). Because the 2016 Zero Emission Credit (ZEC) program characterized nuclear power as "zero-emission" technology, and New York's need for DEFRs will be steadily increasing, possibly exceeding 40 GW worth, New York recognizes that it will need to consider all options, even nuclear power to meet that need.

New York's Planning for a Master Plan for Advanced Nuclear

[Adapted from the introduction and NYSERDA's website:]

On January 14, 2025, Governor Hochul announced the start of a process to develop a Master Plan for Responsible Advanced Nuclear Development in New York. NYSERDA, working with the Department of Public Service and other State Agencies, leads on the development of the Master Plan. As a first step, NYSERDA published its Blueprint for Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies that sets out the scope of issues to be considered throughout the Master Plan process.

Achieving New York State’s ambitious climate goals while ensuring economic growth and a reliable and affordable energy system requires consideration for a variety of zero-emission energy technologies. Several technologies are being considered to meet this need, including long-duration energy storage, hydrogen, alternative fuels, and advanced nuclear. A growing and innovative group of advanced nuclear energy technologies has recently emerged as a potential source of dispatchable carbon-free power.

The term “advanced” is used to refer to this suite of technologies simply to distinguish these new designs from the majority of existing nuclear plants in the U.S. built primarily decades ago. Advanced nuclear technologies offer attractive possibilities, with their scalability, economic development, low land use, advanced operational (including safety) features, and potential applications for process heat. These technologies may represent an opportunity for additional grid capacity to support an electrifying economy that can both complement New York’s buildout of renewables and serve as a baseload resource unto itself. The potential of advanced nuclear is highlighted in the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear report and federal support for new nuclear development,” with the passage of the ADVANCE Act in 2024, which reduces licensing fees and streamlines Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulatory processes with the goal of accelerating deployment timelines.

Yet advanced nuclear technologies raise a host of questions, regarding technological readiness, environmental and climate justice, waste, cost, and cost risks, among other factors. This Blueprint provides an initial inventory of the range of these issues as the starting point for an in-depth follow-up assessment process that will culminate in a Master Plan for Responsible Advanced Nuclear Development (Master Plan) by 2026.

SOURCES:

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority; Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies. Published January 2025.

New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) website.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) website.

State of New York Department of Public Service, Case 15-E-0302 – Proceeding on Motion of the Commission to Implement a Large-Scale Renewable Energy Program and a Clean Energy Standard, Published November 4, 2024

Published by Nucleation Capital in REPORTS

December 15, 2024

States vying to host nuclear development

Energy is extremely big business and growing. But dominating in the fossil fuel industry is so very "last century." As such, it is encouraging to see the state of Texas, which prides itself on being the "energy capital of the world," setting itself up to become the "epicenter" for deployment of advanced nuclear. The state has taken some impressive steps to achieve this goal, but the question is why? What is behind this push? And where does this leave other states vying to compete for this business? This article provides pointers to the state of state competition to lead in nuclear innovation in the U.S.

Lessons learned the hard way

Serious interest in nuclear energy for Texas seems to have been sparked in 2022, in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri that resulted in extended power outages that caused many cold-related fatalities. Soon after, an industry group got together to form the Texas Nuclear Alliance dedicated to the advancement of nuclear technology in Texas and a mission to make Texas the "Nuclear Capital of the World." TNA's underlying premise was that, to meet the need for low-carbon and reliable energy, neither Texas nor the world could afford to turn its back on "clean, safe, reliable and secure" nuclear energy.

By late 2023, Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, directed the Texas Public Utility Commission to establish a working group to study advanced nuclear. A year later, in November 2024, the Governor and the PUCT announced the release of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group’s final report on Texas’ plan to build a world-leading advanced nuclear power industry. The report's multiple goals sought to enhance electric reliability and energy security, promote economic development, and unleash new opportunities for the growing Texas workforce. In commenting on the PUC's report, Governor Abbott said:

How will Texas take this lead? By doing what Texas does best: cutting "red tape" and establishing major "incentives" to "attract investments," accelerate advanced nuclear deployments and overcome regulatory hurdles. It's a very good plan . . . and far exceeds efforts by any other state to attract advanced nuclear development to itself.

Best of all, Texas isn't merely posturing. The Texas Nuclear Alliance has partnered with the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS, which boasts eleven universities, eight agencies and an enormous 2100 acre parcel of land called the Rellis Campus devoted to supporting technology innovation) and announced that they have selected four advanced nuclear ventures to build their own advanced reactor at Texas A&M. These companies, called TNA Founding Members, include: Kairos Power, Natura Resources, Terrestrial Energy and Aalo Atomics. These companies responded to an RFP in the summer of 2024 to bring their designs to the Rellis campus and were accepted. While there are unknowns about what this selection means for these companies, solving the siting issue can provide a significant advantage in the highly competitive race to be the first to deploy.

[Click here to see how beautifully Texas A&M promotes the Rellis campus.]

Status of State Competition for Advanced Nuclear

So where do other states sit in the effort to compete for this future economic activity? As of the end of 2024, there are currently 28 U.S. states that generate nuclear power to meet some portion of their electricity. Of these 28, Texas is at the bottom, comparable only to California, with only 7% of capacity provided by nuclear. (In contrast, it gets 51% of its power from gas, 13% from coal and 22% from wind.)

Starting in the late 1970s, as many as 16 states enacted moratoriums on building more nuclear power in the state. Of those states that enacted bans, only nine states (California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont) still have state-wide moratoriums or cannot build more without legislative approval. Four states—Wisconsin (2016), Kentucky (2017), Montana (2021) and West Virginia (2022) recently repealed their bans entirely and enacted legislations to open the door for new reactor construction, largely to meet economic, energy and climate goals. New York, Connecticut and Illinois have unique legislative approaches, where nuclear construction is allowed but under certain conditions.

Illinois, one of the largest nuclear generating states, which produces 53% of its electricity (and 90% of its clean energy) from nuclear power, recently passed HB 2473, lifting the state’s moratorium on building new nuclear reactors—but only for small modular reactors (SMRs) rated for 300 megawatts or less. This measure was signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat.

Connecticut has a state-wide ban but passed an exception in 2022 that allows more nuclear construction at the site of the state's one operating nuclear power plant, the Millstone Power Station. This specifically allows Dominion Energy to build advanced nuclear at the Millstone site. Dominion has shown interest in SMRs and recently announced a deal with X-energy to build their advanced design, in partnership with Amazon.

Alone among the most populated, industrial and progressive U.S. states, California remains mired in antiquidated antinuclear politics. Although there is a large fraction of advanced nuclear innovation happening at startups located in California, California's moratorium on new nuclear plants will force these ventures to seek alternative states in which to build their technologies. California's leadership has shown no interest in competing to win the race to attract all of the talent, federal funding, jobs and economic development that will accompany the growth of this innovative sector and, by all appearances, the state has now fallen behind Texas, Wyoming, Illinois, New York and even Connecticut.

But, there are signs of attitudinal shifts happening even in deep blue California. Both California's progressive Governor, Gavin Newsom, who for years workd to force the retirement of Diablo Canyon, and the state's legislature reversed their decisions at the last minute and delayed the closure of the nuclear facility for five more years. They recognized, if reluctantly, that the plant had reliably provided almost 20% of the state's zero-emission power and 8% of its electricity for decades. Shutting it down would expose the state to dire and life-threatening power outages without the plant's high capacity-factor reliability and highly differentiated, non-intermittent generation. It would also set back progress on the state's climate goals.

An Associated Press survey of state energy policies in 2022 found that about two thirds of the states consider nuclear power as an option to help take the place of fossil fuels. Of the U.S. states which have repealed their moratoriums, most have done so while actively exploring the possibility of adding more nuclear power to their energy mix, recognizing that solar, wind and burning wood or waste is not enough to keep the lights on.

In 2023, with the Biden Administraion pitching coal communities to transition to nuclear power, seven states considered measures related to small modular nuclear, including Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Virginia, Oregon and New Jersey. The Nuclear Energy Institute estimated that there were actually about 200 "nuclear-friendly" energy bills considered by legislatures in 2023, a huge increase from prior years, when just a handful mentioned nuclear. Many of those bills are laying foundations that will be seen later, just as prior years' efforts towards nuclear power are now being seen in a number of key states, that are leading the way towards building new nuclear.

Wyoming, seen as an "early mover," is one that began laying the groundwork to attract and build next-generation nuclear prior to 2020, when Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, signed a bill forbidding coal plants to close but allowing small modular reactor capacity to replace the coal generation capacity. Subsequent legislation in 2022 and 2023 provided regulatory streamlining for advanced reactor deployment and authorized the state to match private funds up to $150 million. These actions helped the state win over TerraPower, the advanced nuclear venture owned by Bill Gates, which is now building infrastructure for what may be the first advanced nuclear power plant near the site of a retiring coal-fired power plant, in Kemmerer, Wyoming. It helped Wyoming a lot that Bill Gates was friends with Warren Buffet whose Wyoming-based company, PacifiCorp owns many struggling coal plants and so found a site they were willing to let TerraPower use.

Michigan and Virginia have also worked to protect and increase their nuclear power and sit at the forefront of resurgent state interest in nuclear energy. Michigan's Democratic Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, worked to prevent the closure of the Palisades nuclear power plant. But, when a mechanical problem forced the plant's sudden closure, the state legislature agreed to put $150 million toward the potential restart of Palisades, in what would be the US' first-ever restart of a shuttered generating station. Under the Biden Adminstration's Civil Nuclear Credit program, the plant subsequently received a $1.5 billion conditional loan commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy, to help fund the repairs and restart and potentially enable Holtec to build several SMRs on the site as well.

Virginia’s recent pro-nuclear moves include state funding for an energy “career cluster” and a state-supported energy lab that help enable deployment of advanced nuclear reactors near former coal mines. These efforts are designed to attract workers, jobs and investments by companies in the growing advanced nuclear sector, which is poised to begin building SMRs at the country's already shuttered and retiring coal plants. Similar efforts have been underway in an growing list of states, now including Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virgina where officials are working to provide economic and regulatory conditions that will attract development of next-generation nuclear. It is clear that the competition to win this still nascent but highly promising business will be fierce.

[Note, we are now actively tracking state actions at: US States' Nuclear Progress, which is important enough that we have this page listed in our Resource area.]

Sources

Office of the Texas Governor | Greg Abbott, Texas Leads As Energy Capital Of The World In 2024, December 27, 2024.

Texas Nuclear Alliance, Texas Nuclear Alliance Members Selected to Build Nuclear Reactors at Texas A&M University System's RELLIS Campus, press release of 2/4/25 by the Texas Nuclear Alliance and Time to Build. (See video of the announcement.)

Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group, Deplying a World-Renowned Nuclear Industry in Texas: Considerations and Recommendations for Action, November 18, 2024.

DOE, Office of Nuclear Energy, What is a Nuclear Moratorium? Sept. 20, 2024

Governor Kathy Hochul, Governor Hochul Commits More Than $1 Billion to Tackle the Climate Crisis – the Single Largest Climate Investment in New York’s History, January 14, 2025.

CALMatters, Artificial intelligence is bringing nuclear power back from the dead — maybe even in California, by Alex Shultz, January 30, 2025.

NYSERDA, Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies, January 2025

LexisNexis, States Take Another Look at Nuclear Power to Combat Climate Change, Dec. 17, 2023.

Associated Press, Majority of US states pursue nuclear power for emission cuts, by Jennifer McDermott, Jan. 18, 2022.

Utility Dive, As states increasingly look to advanced nuclear, Wyoming, Virginia and Michigan lead the way, by Brian Martucci, April 17, 2024.

Stateline, Federal money could supercharge state efforts to preserve nuclear power, by Alex Brown, February 12, 2024.

Hannah Ritchie, Data Explorer: US State-by-State Electricity Sources, updated in 2025.

Wisconsin Public Radio, 2 GOP state lawmakers pushing to advance nuclear energy in Wisconsin, by Joe Schultz, Feb. 13, 2025

Published by Nucleation Capital in Advanced Nuclear, Advanced Nuclear Customers, Energy abundance, Energy transition, Government support, LINKS, Nuclear competitiveness, Nuclear financing, Nuclear innovation

May 4, 2024

Rod Adams: Investing in the Future of Energy

Rodney Adams, Managing Partner, Nucleation Capital, had the honor of speaking with Amy Rotman of 121 Mining, at their New York event on May 4th, 2024. For more information about the event, which connects mining companies with investors, see the 121 Mining website. Please click the arrow below to watch Rod's conversation.

Published by Rod Adams in Advanced Nuclear, Asset manager support, Biden-Harris Administration, Energy transition, Fission, Future of Energy, Investor activity, NEWS, Nuclear competitiveness, Nuclear financing, Uranium mining & Fuel resources, Venture capital support for nuclear

March 26, 2023

Eunice Newton Foote

Eunice Newton Foote, a descendant of Sir Isaac Newton through her father, is believed to be the first scientist to study and conclude that rising carbon dioxide gas levels could raise atmospheric temperatures and impact the earth's climate. Up until 2010, scientists had believed that John Tyndall deserved the credit as the first person to show the involvement of infrared radiation in the greenhouse effect. Although Foote published the results of her experiments as early as 1856, demonstrating the absoprtion of heat by CO2 and water vapor and her hypothesis that changing amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere would alter the climate and despite this being possibly the very first physics publication by an American woman in a scientific journalI wasn't until her work was rediscovered in 2010 that she was recognized as the pioneer that she was.

Eunice Foote was born in Connecticut in 1819 and was a scientists, inventor, mother and women's rights campaigner. After marrying Elisha Foote in 1841, Foote settled in Seneca, where she met and befriended Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was the daughter of Judge Daniel Cady, who was the attorney who had trained Elisha Foote in the law. Although she attended the Rensselaer School and gained a broad education in scientific theory and practice, including laboratory testing, she was denied access to further studies.

From Wikipedia:

Eunice Foote – "Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun's Rays" (1856), American Journal of Science and Arts. Foote recognized the implications of carbon dioxide's heat-capturing properties—the greenhouse effect—for the entire planet.

An amateur scientist, Foote conducted a series of experiments that demonstrated the interactions of sunlight on different gases. She used an air pump, two glass cylinders, and four mercury-in-glass thermometers. In each cylinder, she placed two thermometers and then used the pump to evacuate the air from one cylinder and compress it in the other cylinder. When both cylinders reached equal ambient temperatures, they were placed in the sunlight and temperature variances were measured. She also placed the containers in the shade for comparison and tested the temperature results by dehydrating one cylinder and adding water to the other, to measure the effect of dry versus moist air. Foote noted that the amount of moisture in the air impacted the temperature results. She performed this experiment on air, carbon dioxide (CO₂) (which was called carbonic acid gas in her era), and hydrogen, finding that the tube filled with carbon dioxide became hotter than the others when exposed to sunlight.

She wrote: "The receiver containing this gas became itself much heated—very sensibly more so than the other—and on being removed [from the Sun], it was many times as long in cooling".

Foote noted that CO₂ reached a temperature of 125 °F (52 °C) and that the amount of moisture in the air contributed to temperature variances. In connection with the history of the Earth, Foote theorized that "An atmosphere of that gas would give to our earth a high temperature; and if, as some suppose, at one period of its history, the air had mixed with it a larger proportion than at present, an increased temperature from its own action, as well as from increased weight, must have necessarily resulted." Her theory was a clear statement of climatic warming caused by increased levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Foote described her findings in a paper, "Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun's Rays", that she submitted for the tenth annual AAAS meeting, held on August 23, 1856, in Albany, New York. For reasons that are unclear, Foote did not read her paper to those present—women were in principle allowed to speak publicly at the conference—and her paper was instead presented by Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian Institution. Henry introduced Foote's paper by stating "Science was of no country and of no sex. The sphere of woman embraces not only the beautiful and the useful, but the true". Yet, he discounted her findings in the New-York Daily Tribune article about the presentation, saying "although the experiments were interesting and valuable, there were [many] [difficulties] encompassing [any] attempt to interpret their significance".

_______________

Sources:

Wikipedia: Eunice Newton Foote
BBVA OpenMind: Eunice Newton Foote, the Forgotten Pioneer of the Greenhouse Effect, Mar. 8, 2022

Published by editor in Brilliant thinkers, Carbon emissions, Climate change, History Timeline, History-making, Nuclear innovation, Nuclear R&D, Scientific debate, Women in Nuclear, WOMEN IN NUCLEAR GRID